The Bitter Past
by little-fuzzy-dude
Summary: Doofenshmirtz's latest device has sent Perry the Platypus somewhere, his communicator isn't working, and to make matters worse his hat was knocked off so he doesn't have access to any of his cool secret agent gadgets. He'll have to figure out where he is and how to get out of this situation on his own. Heinz is just trying to hide from some bullies when a teal platypus finds him.
1. Chapter 1

So this is a fic that I hand wrote the entirety of about four years ago, after binging the first three seasons of P&F. I just got around to finally rewriting it. It's already done, so I'll be posting regularly.

Mild content warning in this chapter for canonical child abuse, but nothing graphic.

Thanks to my sister, eternal-song, for beta'ing for me.

* * *

Perry smacked his wrist communicator. Nothing. Growling, he smacked it against a nearby tree. The screen stayed blank, just like the previous twenty times he'd done the same.

Okay. Percussive maintenance wasn't working. Which meant he was genuinely out of range of OWCA communication. Or the network was down; that happened more often than Perry would like. Either way, Perry couldn't get a hold of the agency, and so he would have to figure out his latest problem on his own.

Namely, where in the world he was.

Things had been as usual earlier in the day. Perry had been trapped in a suitcase, trying to unzip himself as Dr. Doofenshmirtz rambled about how it was such a hassle to arrange travel to see people, and wouldn't it just be easier to be able to transport yourself directly to them? And then Perry had escaped and attacked the man just as he was about to fire the -inator at himself, and Doofenshmirtz had fallen into the control panel and the device had fired right at the attacking platypus.

And, to make matters worse, his hat had fallen off when he'd jumped at the doctor, leaving Perry stranded, without the majority of his equipment, and with little chance of the doctor showing up with his jet pack to get him out of this situation.

The platypus looked around. He was standing at the edge of a fairly dense forest, tall deciduous trees shading the packed dirt road in front of him. Across the street was a row of picturesque yet oddly sepia-toned houses, built in an old European style, thatched roofs and all. Something about the place niggled at his memory. He knew it from somewhere, but he couldn't place it.

Perry worried at the gap in his knowledge as he began to explore, his webbed feet kicking up dust as he walked. The houses were rather nice, he supposed, although architecture was more Phineas' thing. He thought it was kind of tacky that every house he passed had a lawn gnome out front, but hey, he was just a platypus. What did he know about landscape design?

As he approached the end of the street, Perry caught the sound of laughing. Whoever it was seemed to be heading towards him, and he looked around quickly for a hiding spot. He ducked behind a lawn gnome as a group of kids rounded the corner. No need to be seen by a group of strangers – better to have the element of surprise, especially when he didn't even know where he was.

The group of kids was talking excitedly, and – wait. Were they speaking German?

Perry smacked his head against the gnome a few times, feeling like an idiot. It was obvious. He'd even been here before, twice, so he should have recognized the area. But who would Doofenshmirtz want to visit in Drusselstein, anyway? It wasn't like the man had many fond memories of the place. Unless he wanted to visit his ocelot family...

The kids' laughter cut off that train of thought. They were passing in front of the lawn where Perry was hidden. He watched them cautiously, wondering if one of them was the person Doofenshmirtz wanted to see. They all seemed to be fairly normal, although they were laughing about some kid they'd been teasing. Perry clenched his fists. Bullying wasn't precisely evil, but it was something he didn't tolerate. He had to consciously prevent himself from trying to teach these kids a lesson that probably wouldn't sink in anyway.

At least OWCA made sure all of their agents could understand German. Perry had been skeptical of their reasoning, as they'd fed them all some line about how supervillains, in general, were German or grew up in German-speaking areas. It seemed like an unnecessary stereotype on their parts, as the majority of the evil people that Perry had met (and at this point, he'd met quite a few) didn't speak a word of German. However, the lessons had definitely ended up benefiting him, so he supposed he really couldn't complain.

When he couldn't hear the kids anymore, Perry carefully ventured out from behind the gnome. He headed in the other direction, keeping his senses peeled for anyone else. The person Doofenshmirtz had wanted to bring himself to couldn't be far, after all. Whomever it was.

A quiet sound from in the trees caught his attention. It was almost too faint to hear, so it was likely that the group of kids hadn't even noticed. Perry couldn't quite tell, but it sounded like someone crying. He frowned and dropped to all fours, creeping towards the source of the crying.

As he got closer, he grew sure – it was definitely someone crying. Whoever it was seemed to be trying to muffle the sound, too, because it sounded choked and there were frequent sniffs. Perry's frown deepened and he hurried closer. Sitting against a tree ahead, he saw a young boy. The boy had his knees drawn up and his face was buried into his legs. He was shaking slightly. Perry let out a gentle chatter, wondering if there was some way to cheer him up.

The boy's head popped up, looking around wildly before locking his tear-filled eyes with the platypus. Perry realized, at that moment, how very desperate his situation actually was.

.:.:.

Heinz held his breath. The creature, whatever it was, was staring right at him, and his ocelot-learned instincts were screaming at him that it was challenging him, that it was going to attack him, that he needed to run or hide or something, and he had no idea how dangerous the creature was but he still had the scars that had taught him not to underestimate a challenge and...

The creature blinked slowly. Heinz relaxed and let out the breath he was holding, his mind pulling out of its panicked spiral, and he took a moment to actually study the creature.

"A platypus?" he said aloud. What was a platypus doing in Gimmelshtump? And why did he have the feeling that it should be wearing a fedora?

It wandered forward and nudged at his hand with its bill. He lifted his hand up a little, and the platypus nudged under it so that it was resting on its head. Heinz drew in a slow breath, barely daring to move, and waited for the platypus to run away or attack or something, just like everything else always did. But it didn't move. It just looked up at him expectantly. Carefully, he stroked the plush fur under his fingers, and the platypus let out another chatter that sounded suspiciously similar to a purr.

"Hey little guy," he said softly, a small smile starting to form on his face. "I'm Heinz."

The platypus chattered again, almost as if it was responding to the introduction.

Heinz's smile grew. "Well, I can't pronounce that," he said. The platypus looked up at him with a completely deadpan expression. "It's true!" he insisted, feeling defensive.

The platypus looked away, as though exasperated. Heinz marveled briefly at how intelligent the platypus seemed to be, before realizing he was probably just projecting what he wanted to see onto a blank canvas and pretending it was real. Just like he'd done with Balloony.

His face fell at the thought. Balloony. He'd drifted off over a year ago, but Heinz still wasn't over the loss of his only friend. Okay, so he'd been a balloon. Heinz knew that. He knew he'd been deluding himself, but it had been nice to pretend he wasn't alone for a while. Even if it was just for pretend.

The thought was broken by another chatter from the unusually talkative platypus. He realized he'd stopped petting the creature, and resumed the repetitive motion.

"You're an odd little guy, aren't you? Most animals don't like me that much," he said. "Not even really Momma Ocelot. Though she did let me hang around. And, you know, didn't eat me."

He was talking quietly, not really wanting to draw any attention from anyone who might be passing by on the too-close road, but the platypus didn't seem to mind. It was watching him intently, and Heinz had to remind himself not to project too much onto it. It was an animal, after all, and it had his own life outside of him. He would probably never see it again after it inevitably wandered off. No need to get attached.

Heinz talked idly to the strange platypus. It was nice to have someone listen to him, even if the listener didn't actually understand him. And as long as he continued to pet it, the platypus didn't seem to mind his babbling.

Eventually, he realized how late it was getting. The sun was low in the sky; the light was filtering through the leaves, lighting the woods a deep golden color. He would need to get home soon if he wanted to be allowed inside tonight. He hoped he'd be allowed to sleep inside tonight. There was a definite chill in the air, and lawn gnome duty would be long and cold tonight.

Reluctantly, Heinz pulled his hand away from the platypus and stood up. It looked up, confused that the affection had stopped.

"I need to go home now," he said, unable to keep the sadness from creeping into his voice. The platypus chattered quietly, and he smiled shakily. "Thank you for your company."

Reluctantly, he hurried off.

.:.:.

This was a bad idea. No, this was a horrible idea, and Perry knew it. But he couldn't stop himself from following Heinz as he rushed off.

Somehow, despite seeing backstory after backstory through slideshows, diagrams, and interpretive dance, Perry had never quite grasped how short of a straw Doofenshmirtz had drawn in life. This kid he was following had to be around the same age as Phineas, and yet he was short and scrawny and timid in a way no child should be. It riled up every protective instinct in Perry's body, and so he followed the boy against his better instincts.

He desperately didn't want to become another of Doofenshmirtz's backstories. Somehow, though, he had a sinking feeling that even if he were to get back to his own time right now, he already qualified.

Perry tried to keep a reasonable distance from Heinz, unsure if he wanted the boy to know he was there. Heinz's instincts had obviously been honed during his stay with the ocelots, and the boy was very aware of his surroundings.

He recognized the Doofenshmirtz house as they approached. It hadn't changed at all in the intervening years. Heinz hesitated on the front step, as though gathering the courage to face his family. Perry wasn't sure if he'd succeeded when he entered the house.

This was a really bad idea. Perry should be focusing on finding a way home, not meddling with the past. Not trying to help his nemesis' past self. Especially when he knew he wouldn't succeed. He wasn't sure how many of the backstories that Doofenshmirtz had shared Heinz had already lived through, but it was definitely not all of them. He knew that he wouldn't make any kind of dent in the life that Heinz faced. Everything about this was a horrendously bad idea and went against all of his secret agent training.

But the moment he'd seen the figure crying, he knew he needed to help. And he couldn't turn back on that decision now, not when he knew how much the boy needed someone. Anyone.

So Perry packed away his objections and crept nearer to the house. He could hear muffled voices, presumably arguing, as he got close, but couldn't pick out any specifics until an older male voice started shouting.

"Shut your mouth, blöde Fotze! Do not talk back to us!" Perry's German lessons hadn't included swears, OWCA preferring to keep their agents from swearing at all, but he could tell that was probably a bad one.

The door opened and large hands threw Heinz onto the front lawn. He was dressed as a garden gnome, complete with pointed hat and fake beard. Perry glared at the gnome that was already in the garden, wondering why Heinz was being forced to act as a gnome when the family had gotten their hands on one.

Perry crept closer to the boy, who stood and brushed himself off before assuming his garden gnome position. He was grumbling, face mutinous, but Perry could see traces of fear in his expression.

He got close enough to nudge the boy's leg with his bill. Heinz tensed, but didn't move, and flicked his eyes down to look at Perry.

"Herr Schnabltier?"

Perry chattered quietly, amused. Mr. Platypus, really? Of course, this is from the kid who named his balloon 'Balloony' and grew up to give all of his inventions highly literal names. It shouldn't be surprising.

"Did you follow me?" Heinz's soft voice wavered a little, and for a moment Perry was worried that the boy would start crying. But he just sniffed, glanced towards the window, and said, "Thank you."

Perry curled up around the boy's feet in response. He could feel Heinz trembling slightly. As much as Perry didn't want to think about it, the trembling probably had less to do with the restrictive position the boy stood in and more to do with a living creature showing him kindness. He knew that this was a task that Heinz was intimately familiar with. From the instinctive way he stood to the obvious wear on the too-small costume to the number of stories his future self had told Perry, it was quite obvious the lawn gnoming was something he'd done often for a long time.

"They wanted an extra guard for my brother," Heinz whispered, spitting out the last word. His eyes flicked to the window like he was hoping he wasn't overheard.

Perry's heart sank. He had no idea that Doofenshmirtz's grudge against his brother was so deep-seated, nor that it had started so early. It wasn't surprising, though, if his parents had used his brother as an excuse for their mistreatment.

Perry cuddled closer to Heinz's legs. He had a feeling it would be a long night.

.:.:.

Herr Schnabltier stayed curled up around Heinz's feet all night. It was nice, Heinz mused, not to be alone in the darkest parts of the night when all of the stories about witches and monsters seemed true. He never believed them, of course. He was a rational person. But the witching hour was called that for a reason and everything just seemed so much more possible then. Having someone else there definitely helped.

Not that Heinz would admit it to anyone. Not that there was anyone for Heinz to admit it to, except maybe Herr Schnabltier, and he didn't really count. He was a platypus, after all, and from what Heinz had heard, they didn't do much.

It was well past sunrise when the door opened and his mother yelled for him. Herr Schnabltier startled awake, but Heinz had been waiting for her since the sky began to lighten. Before they'd gotten the replacement gnome, they would leave him out for days on end, but now they were better at remembering to let him in.

He didn't dare say anything to Herr Schnabltier, not with his mother so close, lest she hear and try to chase his new friend away. He did nudge the platypus with his foot and give him a small smile before hurrying to the house.

His mother was waiting for him at the door. "Get dressed and get out. Your father and I are taking Roger out today and we don't want you messing with anything while we're gone."

"Yes, Mother," Heinz said. He hurried past her. His father was sitting in the front room, but he didn't look up from his newspaper or acknowledge Heinz in any way. Which was good. He only ever acknowledged Heinz to hurl abuse at him, after all.

He rushed up the stairs and down the hall, sparing a glare at Roger's room as he passed. Stupid younger brother. Heinz's room was only a little way down from his brother's, across from what used to be Only Son's room and was now a gallery of all of the dog's achievements. His own room was small, more of a closet than an actual room, really, but his parents never even tried to come in here so it was really the only space he could call his own.

Heinz changed quickly. Luckily he'd become pretty decent at sewing, so he was able to transform the dresses his mother had forced onto him into some more sensible and comfortable clothes. Some of the more ruffled monstrosities were honestly beyond saving, but many of the plainer dresses had made fine shirts and pants with a little work.

His parents didn't seem to notice him as he slipped out of the house. Heinz paused for a moment on the front step, looking around, but the yard was empty.

Stupid. Shoulders slumped, he continued down the path, berating himself for the little flicker of hope he'd allowed himself. Should have known better. He should probably head back into the woods. The bullies didn't usually look for him there, and maybe Herr Schnabltier had gone back to the woods and would find Heinz again.

Maybe. The word rang false in his head. His hopes had never counted for much before. He scuffed his feet in the dirt, not feeling particularly hopeful.

A faint chatter from the treeline broke Heinz's thoughts. He looked over to the source of the noise, and couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"Herr Schnabltier!" he cried, rushing over to the platypus. "You waited for me!"

He knelt down and started petting the soft teal fur on Herr Schnabltier's head, just like he had the day before. The platypus' eyes crossed in pleasure. "Thanks for sticking around," Heinz said, a little sheepish about his earlier doubt.

The platypus just looked up at him as though saying, _Well what were you expecting?_

"I don't know," Heinz admitted. "Not a whole lot of people like me." He reminded himself that talking to an animal as though it could respond, as though it had responded, wasn't any crazier than doing the same for a balloon. At least a platypus wasn't an inanimate object.

Herr Schnabltier nudged Heinz's hand, which had once again stilled.

"Yeah," Heinz said, and his voice felt thick and there were tears threatening to spill down his face. "I like you too."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! This one isn't as long and is quite a bit fluffier.

Fun fact, I had created an elaborate timeline of all of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's backstories when I wrote the first draft, but since it was so long ago, I can't find it any more. So there is actually logic to the order of events, but I can't remember what exactly it is.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Herr Schnabltier!" Perry looked up at Heinz's shout. The boy was running towards him, a paper clutched in his hand. Five days had passed since Perry had found himself in Dr. Doofenshmirtz's past, and the boy who would grow into his nemesis had wormed into his heart on day one.

"Look what Klassprofessor handed out in class today!" Heinz held up the paper for Perry to see, but the boy was vibrating from excitement, making the paper impossible to read.

Perry chattered in amusement. Heinz reminded him so much of Phineas. They had the same enthusiasm and creativity, the same way of standing right back up when life pushed them down. He was so grateful that life had been kinder to Phineas than to Heinz, giving him a loving family and a brother to enact his schemes with.

He missed his boys so much. He hadn't been away from them for so long before.

Heinz, unaware of Perry's morose train of thought, went on excitedly. "We're having a science fair next month!"

Perry went cold.

"I'm not sure what I'll build," Heinz went on, undeterred by Perry's lack of response, "but it'll be so big and cool that it will be sure to win!"

Oh, Perry remembered how this one ended. Doofenshmirtz had played up the dramatics with that backstory, but Perry knew how much the rejection of the young scientist's brilliant mind by those he looked up to had hurt. Had crushed what little self-confidence the boy had.

Perry wished so badly that he could change the past. That he could help Heinz win. But he couldn't risk destroying the future. He remembered vividly what a little change, a toy train, could do. What that could turn Heinz into.

Although Perry had the feeling that he was already changing the past by just being here. It wasn't a comfortable thought.

"Well, what do you think?" Heinz asked, breaking Perry's train of thought. Perry chattered and let the boy pick him up. Since the second day, Heinz had taken to carrying the platypus around with him, at least while they were alone, rather than let Perry follow at his own pace. Perry had a feeling that Heinz didn't want to risk Perry abandoning him, and so allowed himself to be carried. The boy was always very gentle, as though expressing the affection that he himself had never gotten.

They traveled through the woods for a while. Heinz seemed comfortable in the woods, far more so than in town. He walked with a sureness to his step, head raised. Only part of that confidence could have come from living with the ocelots. Perry guessed the rest had to come from the fact that they were alone.

Vaguely, Perry wondered if he could convince Heinz to build some sort of time machine for his science fair project. Over the past five days, Perry had tried to figure out a way to get back to his own time, and he'd come to the conclusion that he was well and truly stuck. Help from OWCA was out. They'd never expanded their operations into Drusselstein, barring the few times Perry had accompanied Doofenshmirtz here, and Perry didn't have his hat to be able to prove his identity regardless. He wasn't even sure how far they'd expanded in America at this point in time. And they almost certainly didn't have the ability to travel back in time to retrieve him.

As for help from this era, well. The only time machine he could think of was the unfinished one in the Danville museum, and Perry had no way of getting there, nor the technical know-how to fix it. And no one around here, save Heinz, had the ability to build one.

So really, it was either wait for someone to come back and rescue him or somehow get Heinz to build a time machine. And with his locator watch out of commission, there was only one person back in his time who could possibly figure out when and where Perry was, and that was the grown-up version of the boy who was currently carrying him.

Doofenshmirtz had never said what his first -inator was supposed to do, anyway.

.:.:.

Heinz's first stop was the Gimmelshtump dump. People threw out loads of potentially useful things.

He put down Herr Schnabltier, freeing his arms to dig through the piles of rubbish. The platypus seemed distracted but still followed Heinz closely as he moved through the dump.

"What do you think I should build?" he asked, not expecting a response from his companion. There were so many possibilities, and he had a whole month to build it! That was plenty of time to build something amazing.

Behind him, Herr Schnabltier chattered. Heinz turned.

The platypus looked up at the sign he was sitting under, and Heinz followed his gaze. It was an old advertisement of some sort. Most of the text was worn away, but the tagline was just legible. 'The future is now!' it proudly proclaimed.

"The future…" It took him a moment. Then, "You want me to build a time machine?!"

Herr Schnabltier looked amused by Heinz's squawk but trilled an affirmative.

"How would I even do that? It's impossible!"

The platypus gave him a look. _Where did you get that idea?_

"It's never been done!"

_So you'll be the first._

"We don't have the technology!"

_That's what makes it a challenge._

"There's only a month until the science fair!"

_It'll impress everyone there._

"How would we even prove it works?"

That seemed to stall Herr Schnabltier. There were no more arguments, just a platypus looking at him with wide, pleading eyes.

Wide, pleading eyes seemed to be Heinz's weakness, and he broke down quickly. "Ok, ok, I'll see what I can do."

The platypus looked downright thrilled. Heinz started looking for parts, wondering how exactly he could build a functional time machine. He was rolling some theories around in his head when another thought occurred to him.

"Aren't I a little young to be attempting time travel?"

Herr Schnabltier looked downright amused. _Why yes. Yes, you are._

.:.:.

Heinz worked fast. Not as fast as Phineas and Ferb - Perry very much doubted that anyone could work as fast as his boys - but fast enough that he did have a prototype up and running by the end of the day.

Perry did miss the montage, though he was rarely a part of it back home. Building just didn't seem _right_ without cuts and random musical accompaniment.

Regardless, the -inator was rather impressive. They had built it in a clearing in the woods, near enough to the dump that dragging materials to the build site wouldn't be an issue. Heinz had babbled about the theory behind time travel and different ways he could make it physical, and Perry had nodded along, not following any of it.

"And this should triangulate the subject's time-space coordinate," Heinz was saying, tightening the last bolt. His eyes were shining, and Perry could see glimmers of the man he'd grow up to be in the boy's enthusiasm. "I'm not sure what to call it. I was thinking Inator?"

Perry chattered.

"Yeah, I'm not sure either." Heinz patted the device. It was still rather bare-bones, with wires running everywhere and far from the sleek ray that Perry had seen in the science fair flashback. According to Heinz, he didn't want to waste the nice covering on a prototype when he didn't even know if it would work.

Heinz climbed down the ladder carefully. "Alright, I'm done. Herr Schnabltier? What do you think?"

Perry offered the boy a thumbs up.

"Now to test it. If you would?"

Perry dragged the log that Heinz had painted over to him. The boy grabbed it and placed it carefully on the stump where the Inator was aimed. Perry chose not to comment on the rather disturbing face painted on the log.

Heinz pressed a few buttons on the side of the ray, frowning in concentration. "I just need to calibrate it. And…" He pressed one last button and a beam of light shot out of the Inator and hit the log. The log vanished.

"Yes!" Heinz jumped and scooped up Perry, spinning him around in a circle. "It worked!"

The platypus chattered. He wasn't one hundred percent sure that the log disappearing was the best sign, not until it reappeared, but Heinz's enthusiasm was infectious.

The boy seemed to pick up on Perry's reservations. "Just give it a moment. Just a few… more… seconds…" There was a long pause. "Hmm. A dramatic pause usually works. Though that pause was more awkward than dramatic."

Perry nodded in agreement.

The air over the stump flickered. After another long moment, the log reappeared on the stump, wobbling a little.

"Yes!" Heinz shouted, nearly throwing Perry into the air in his excitement. "It did it! It works!"

The log wobbled a little more, then fell off the stump and burst into flames.

Perry and Heinz stared. Heinz slowly put Perry down and rubbed the back of his neck. "It, ah… It needs some work."

.:.:.

Heinz tapped his wrench against one of the legs of the Inator. He just couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Something, obviously, but all of the wiring looked good and the theory was sound.

A chatter interrupted his thoughts, and he looked over his shoulder.

_Didn't you forget something?_ Herr Schnabltier was staring at a red button on the ground.

"How would a self-destruct button keep the traveler from combusting?" Even as he asked the question, Heinz hopped down from the ladder and picked up the button.

The platypus shrugged. _Well, it can't hurt._

Heinz fixed him with a look. "Yes, it can." Herr Schnabltier just shrugged again.

The boy sighed. Why not? He could always remove it if it didn't end up helping.

"You don't have to look so smug about it," Heinz said as he climbed the ladder again, this time with the button. The platypus chattered, sounding suspiciously smug.

Although everything in the Inator had to be rewired through the self-destruct button, it wasn't difficult to install, and Heinz had the ray back online in no time. Herr Schnabltier already had the backup log in place as Heinz climbed down to the fire button.

"It's already calibrated," he said, watching the smug platypus, "so it should be ready to fire. Am I forgetting anything else?"

Herr Schnabltier shook his head. Heinz smiled and pressed the button.

The ray fired, hitting the log, and once again the log vanished. Heinz didn't celebrate prematurely like last time, instead dropping to the ground next to Herr Schnabltier. The platypus was staring intently at the stump. With how interested he was in the project, Heinz was almost starting to wonder if the platypus had some sort of personal investment in it.

But that was ridiculous. A platypus wanting to go to the future? Really?

Heinz scratched the platypus' neck. He'd found out about Herr Schnabltier's involuntary reflex the hard way, but it was pretty cute how his tail flipped up every time he was scratched on the side of his neck.

The air on top of the stump shimmered, and Heinz's eyes snapped to it. The log reappeared with a wobble. Heinz held his breath for several long moments, but the log didn't seem inclined to fall over. Or burst into flames. Or any other strange, random happening.

"Yes!" Heinz shouted, grabbing Herr Schnabltier and jumping to his feet. He spun around in a circle, the platypus above his head, and laughed. Herr Schnabltier looked down at him, seemingly amused and excited. "And nothing happened to the log! No random bad luck!"

Still spinning, his foot caught on a root that he hadn't noticed before. Heinz stumbled, losing his grip on the platypus. Herr Schnabltier went flying, and Heinz could only watch in horror as he flew right into the self-destruct button.

The Inator shuddered, then fell to pieces on the ground. Herr Schnabltier tumbled down, landing next to the pile of mechanical parts, and looked at Heinz accusingly.

"Well," Heinz said, trying to collect his thoughts after that stunning display of bad luck. "At least it didn't explode?"

He'd never seen a platypus face-palm before. There was a first time for everything.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was beginning to sink below the trees, and Perry chattered to get Heinz's attention. The boy was fully focused on rebuilding the Inator, and had gotten pretty far from what Perry could tell, but he looked up at the noise.

Heinz looked around, as though only just realizing how late it had gotten. "I..." he started, then swallowed. "I'd rather not go home tonight if it's all the same to you." The boy smiled at Perry, but the expression was sharp and fragile around the edges.

Perry chattered in agreement and curled up under the ladder. Heinz kept reassembling the machine, but it quickly became too dark to see and he was forced to stop working. The boy reluctantly descended the ladder and joined Perry on the ground under the half-finished device.

After a moment, Heinz said, "Sometimes the woods feel more like home than home does." He was idly scratching something in the dirt, and Perry crept closer, though it was impossible to see. "I did live out here for a year, you know? With the ocelots. They're long gone, of course, somehow found their way onto a ship back to South America. But it still feels freer out here." The boy sighed and laid down.

It was a new moon, and Perry could barely see the silhouette of the boy's face by the starlight. Heinz always seemed to talk about himself more in the dark. Perry wondered when he would get to the point where he could monologue about his backstories in broad daylight, make light of them to someone who he was supposed to hate. This boy certainly wasn't there yet.

Perry curled up into Heinz's side, and they lay there in silence for a while. This was nice. It was comfortable. But Perry was worried about his growing attachment to his nemesis' past self. The boy was just so easy for him to like, which would make it all the harder when Perry had to leave.

Which he did. He did have to leave. He had to get back to his own time and protect the tristate area. He had to be there for his boys. And his nemesis.

How was Doofenshmirtz taking his absence? He had no way of knowing when he'd arrive back in the future. It could be moments from when he left. It could be years. And Doofenshmirtz was far too unstable to be left alone for so long. After all, part of Perry's job was to keep Doofenshmirtz from escalating. If the man believed that he had somehow gotten rid of his nemesis for good, Doofenshmirtz would fully blame himself. Whether he'd ramp up the evil or fade into depression was anyone's guess, but neither option was really an option to Perry. So he had to get back and take care of _his_ Doofenshmirtz.

The problem, though, was that Perry was starting to think of _Heinz_ as his Doofenshmirtz as well. Heinz needed him, almost more than his future counterpart did, and it would tear him apart if Perry left.

When. When Perry left.

This wasn't a question. He had to get back to his own time, even if it broke Heinz's spirit in the process.

Perry scooted closer to Heinz, shivering. The boy pulled him close and began to pet him, reminding him of all the times that Phineas and Ferb had done the same.

No, Perry didn't have a choice. But he knew leaving was going to break both of their hearts.

.:.:.

Herr Schnabltier seemed rather affectionate tonight. Heinz would never deprive someone he called a friend of something that they needed. So when the platypus scooted closer, Heinz pulled him to his chest and began to stroke him.

The platypus relaxed instantly. Though the night was too dark for Heinz to see his friend clearly, it felt like Herr Schnabltier was a long way away. Heinz wondered what he was thinking about.

The silence suddenly felt empty.

"You know, I don't think I've ever had company sleeping out in the woods before," he said. An empty silence let his thoughts wander, and he didn't want that. Not tonight. "I lived with the ocelots, and that was pretty cool, but they're solitary, you know? I mean, they taught me a lot, but they left me alone most of the time."

Heinz hugged the platypus a little tighter. "Sometimes we would all sleep in the den, but we weren't really _together_. And most of the time I was left to find my own way around."

Herr Schnabltier wriggled a little, and Heinz wondered if he was boring him. The platypus stilled after a moment, though, and Heinz figured he was just getting comfortable. Still, he needed to ask. "You're okay with me telling you all this? You're not bored, are you?"

The platypus shook his head vigorously against his chest.

"You're sure?" The platypus nodded. "Oh, good. I was worried that I was boring you or something. I suppose I was just making a mountain out of a molehill again. You know, that's what everyone tells me, don't make a mountain out of a –"

A paw on his shoulder cut him off. Heinz looked down, and though he could not see Herr Schnabltier, he imagined the platypus' eyes were filled with understanding.

Heinz smiled. "Thank you, Herr Schnabltier."

The platypus nodded, then burrowed into his shirt. After a moment, his breathing deepened and slowed. Heinz stared blankly at the shape in his arms as Herr Schnabltier fell asleep on top of him.

Fell asleep. In his arms. Heinz's mind froze. No one, not even Balloony, had ever shown him that much trust. (Though he supposed Balloony didn't count because he was an inanimate object.) But this… this wild animal who had attached itself to him for some unknown reason actually _trusted_ him. Him. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the schnitzel, the dummkopf, the eternal screwup and failure. This platypus trusted _him_ enough to make itself vulnerable and fall asleep in his arms. It was enough to take his brain offline.

Heinz tightened his arms a little and curled up just a bit tighter. The platypus shifted, and he froze, but Herr Schnabltier just settled right into the boy's chest and let out a soft churr of pleasure.

After a moment, Heinz began to drift. His last conscious thought was that if anything attacked them in the night, at least he would make a good meat shield for the platypus.

.:.:.

Perry woke up slowly. He was nice and comfortable in one of the boys' arms, despite the hard ground they were laying on. Why were they on the ground anyway? He couldn't remember…

He opened his eyes, and rather than seeing Phineas or Ferb as he expected, he saw Heinz, face slack in sleep. That's right. Perry was stuck three and a half decades in the past with the child version of his nemesis, and they had spent the night under the half-completed time machine that would hopefully take him back home.

Perry settled back down, watching the boy's face. It was calm and peaceful, and again he was strongly reminded of Phineas. Not that they looked the same, but the only time they were truly still and relaxed was when they were asleep. Even when physically still, their minds were always moving. It was a trait he had always loved in Phineas and had always seen to a lesser extent in Doofenshmirtz, but this boy was proof that his mind was always working full force.

After a few more moments, Perry shifted again. The boy's arms tightened, and Perry resigned himself to laying there until Heinz woke. Not that it was a hardship.

The morning was nice. The sun had just burned off the last of the predawn chill, and it was slowly warming up. Birds sang merrily, and though Perry couldn't understand what exactly was being said, he thought he could pick out a few territory disputes. Ah, the simple life of a wild animal. No evil scientists to fight, no chance of being flung back into the past.

Heinz stirred, and Perry chattered a greeting. The boy's eyes opened slowly, then he blinked and shot up, barely missing hitting his head on the incomplete Inator.

"Good morning, Herr Schnabltier," he said, then seemed to realize he was still clutching Perry. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, releasing his hold.

Perry patted his arm, trying to let the boy know that he was okay, he was used to being cuddled.

They both crawled out from under the machine. Heinz stretched and cracked his back, and Perry, remaining on all fours, followed suit. The boy looked up at his Inator. "I can probably get this done by midmorning, especially since I already got it up and working once." He looked over at Perry. "What do you think?"

Perry gave him a significant look. His stomach was growling, and while Heinz routinely skipped meals as though it was no big deal, Perry needed to eat at least twice a day.

Heinz's face fell, just a little, and Perry instantly felt guilty. He took a step towards the boy, but Heinz waved him off.

"You need to eat. It's fine, I'll be here." The boy's voice was steady if quiet. Perry watched him for a long moment before Heinz made a shooing gesture, smiling. "I'll be fine, go on."

Perry smiled back, then turned and trotted into the woods in search of food, resolving to get back as quickly as possible.

.:.:.

It was an odd sort of quiet without Herr Schnabltier. Not that it wasn't quiet with him, he couldn't speak after all, but it was certainly less lonely.

Heinz shook his head, trying to focus on his Inator rather than the glaring absence behind him. It was hard. He'd only met the platypus a few days ago, and he was already far too attached. He enjoyed the platypus' presence perhaps more than the platypus enjoyed his. The Inator wasn't going to fix itself, however, and this was something that Herr Schnabltier really wanted him to do, for some reason. So Heinz kept working.

He'd gotten more done the previous night than he thought. In fact, there were only a few things left to install, a few bolts to tighten, not forgetting the self-destruct button, though this time he installed it in a place where it was less likely to be hit by accident.

As he was tightening one of the last few structural bolts, he heard a rustling behind him. Heinz smiled. Herr Schnabltier must have found something to eat pretty quickly. He hadn't been expecting the platypus to be back so soon, but he turned around anyway to greet his friend.

The clearing was empty.

"Herr Schnabltier?" he called, climbing down the ladder cautiously. "Are you there?"

There was another rustling sound and the sound of a branch breaking.

"This i- this isn't funny." His voice shook, and he berated himself for his irrational fear. It was probably just Herr Schnabltier trying to have a little fun. No need to be scared.

The rustling started again, and this time Heinz could see the leaves and undergrowth moving. That looked… bigger than a platypus.

He could feel himself shaking madly. This had to be some sort of joke, a cruel trick played on the weird Doofenshmirtz boy, but he had a sinking feeling that this was not a joke at all.

And then he heard the heavy wet breathing that sounded like a growl. Heinz knew that sound, but no, it couldn't be what he thought it was, there was no way, because there were no more wild goozim in this part of Drusselstein. (_There are no wild ocelots, either,_ a traitorous voice whispered in the back of his head.)

A massive brown furry paw emerged from the underbrush, and yes, yes it could, in fact, be a goozim.

Heinz screamed. In the back of his mind, he thought that he might be embarrassed by how high-pitched his scream was if he weren't so terrified.

* * *

Some angst, some fluff, some backstory, and a cliffhanger!

Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is intense, though I tried not to describe anything too graphically. Specific warnings are in the end notes. Most of you probably see where this is going.

Hold onto your hats, folks!

* * *

Perry was floating in a nearby pond, having just foraged a decent breakfast, when he heard the scream. He was instantly alert, as any OWCA agent would be at the first sign of danger. And Perry knew that scream. Heinz's terrified scream hadn't changed in thirty-five odd years.

He was immediately up and running, wishing now more than ever that he had his hat and access to his agent tools. He was a platypus, and thus had some built-in weapons, but it was easier to use just about anything else. Plus, he really didn't like poisoning anyone unless the situation was dire.

Another scream echoed through the woods. This one wasn't of fear, though. This was a scream of pain.

Perry pushed himself to run faster. This couldn't be happening. Heinz had to be fine. He had to grow up into the brilliant man that Perry loved to thwart.

He could hear the growling before he reached the clearing. A goozim. He had to focus. He couldn't think of the last time he'd faced a goozim, hanging over lava, everyone he loved in danger — Heinz was in danger now. The thought snapped him back to the present just as he burst into the clearing.

The Inator had been knocked over and crushed beneath the goozim's paw, and was now just a pile of wires and scrap. Though the creature's back was turned to Perry, he could see something dangling from its mouth.

Perry leaped onto the its back, barely even able to think, just reacting. He pulled himself up and forward, fighting with the thick ropes of fur. If he could just get to the goozim's head, where the fur was thinner, he might be able to do something. He had no idea how platypus venom would affect something this large, but hopefully it would at least distract it.

The goozim quickly noticed Perry crawling up its back. It roared and shook its head, trying to get at the platypus, and in doing so flung the thing that had been in its mouth to the other side of the clearing.

'The thing' was Heinz. He landed in a heap at the base of a tree across the clearing. What used to be his right arm couldn't rightly be called an arm anymore, and his skin was deathly pale.

Perry saw red. He flung himself up, moving on instinct, and dug both of his spurs into the skin at the base of the goozim's skull.

It roared again, loud enough to shake the trees around the clearing. Perry clung on as the goozim did its best to dislodge him. It whipped its head around vigorously, but Perry's grip was strong and he'd been in many situations where he'd had to hang on during worse.

The goozim stopped thrashing after a moment, and Perry adjusted his position on its head, trying to figure out what to do next. He noticed with some satisfaction that the area around where his spurs punctured the goozim was swelling. His venom must be working. The creature was probably in excruciating pain, and Perry couldn't bring himself to care. It had hurt Heinz.

Goozim were violent and dangerous creatures, but they weren't particularly smart. For some reason, this one got the idea to try to slam itself into the trees to try to remove its hanger-on. It succeeded, but only in that it broke clean through the trunk of the tree that it hit and Perry was forced to drop from the creature in order to avoid being crushed.

He dodged towards the wreckage of the Inator. With all that metal, surely there was something sharp enough to serve as a weapon. Perry grabbed the first viable piece of scrap he saw, a long and twisted metal rod, and rolled out of the way of the creature's massive paw. He swung the rod around, letting the momentum from the roll carry the rod up to slam into the creature.

The goozim had been in mid-turn towards Perry when the rod slammed into its face. It staggered, going cross-eyed in an expression that might have been comical in any other situation. As it was, Perry barely even paused before stabbing the end of the rod right into the creature's eye. The goozim roared and tried to rear back, but Perry forced the metal deeper. After a moment of resistance, he felt something shatter and the rod slid almost easily deep into the creature's head.

He only paused briefly to check if he'd killed it. The goozim had slumped over, completely silent; it didn't even seem to be breathing, so Perry figured it was safe enough to help Heinz. If that hadn't killed the thing, he wasn't sure what could.

Turning away from the beast, which was almost certainly dead, he hurried over to Heinz. The boy's skin was white, and what used to be his arm looked like ground beef with splinters of bone. Perry swallowed. The arm was definitely past saving.

Perry thanked any god, spirit, or other metaphysical concept that was listening that he didn't keep his first aid kit in his hat. He reached into the pocket where he usually kept his hat and pulled out a large trunk, full of anything he could possibly need to help Heinz and a few things he didn't.

First, a tourniquet. Thankfully Heinz's shoulder and a portion of his upper arm remained mostly intact, so that wasn't too hard.

Next. Well, next would be getting Heinz to a hospital. But it seemed likely that he'd injured his head or neck when the goozim threw him, and Perry was reluctant to move him without knowing for sure, especially not knowing where the nearest hospital actually was. Besides, there was likely no one in Gimmelshtump who would be willing to help get Heinz to a hospital, or even help him at all. Their attitudes towards the boy ran the gamut from indifference to loathing, and not one of them would care if Heinz died. So Perry was on his own.

Heinz seemed to be going in and out. His eyes were glazed, and he occasionally moaned a little. Perry stroked his forehead, attempting to soothe the boy, but got no reaction. Heinz likely wasn't aware of much other than the pain in his arm.

Perry started to build a fire. Heinz was probably freezing from the blood loss. Anything to get him a little more comfortable, and to take Perry's mind off of the surgery he was going to need to perform.

He was going to need to remove Heinz's arm himself. The germaphobe in Perry was screaming that this was a bad idea, that this clearing was nowhere near sterile, and that he was just going to end up killing Heinz. But he pushed that voice away, knowing that this was the only way to save his friend's life.

Perry almost giggled to himself, feeling slightly hysterical. He remembered when Doofenshmirtz had commented offhand that he'd lost both of his arms. Perry never thought he'd be the one removing one of them.

.:.:.

Heinz wasn't sure what was happening. He was cold, freezing, but his right arm was searing, hot and cold and pain all wrapped into one. Someone was moaning something far away, and when he opened his mouth to respond, he found that his mouth was already open and the moaning only got louder.

He opened his eyes (when had he closed them) and tried to look around, but all he could see were blurry shapes and teal. Teal. Teal was important, and he tried to reach for it, but his left hand only twitched and his right arm exploded into fire. Someone screamed. His throat hurt and the colors hurt his eyes so he closed them and everything was fire, fire, until cool blackness overtook him.

.:.:.

It took Perry several hours to remove the mangled mess that had once been Heinz's right arm. He'd managed to save about a third of the upper arm, but that victory felt hollow. He was surprised the goozim hadn't ripped off the arm entirely. He was surprised that Heinz was still alive.

Perry was dead on his feet, so far beyond exhausted. He hadn't been trained for this. He hadn't been trained for any of this. OWCA had a gaping hole in their training protocols. They needed to train their agents on what to do when they got flung into the past and had to try to save the life of the child who would grow up to be their nemesis.

At least he knew that Heinz would be able to build himself a new arm. The kid would make do. He always did.

Perry curled up right next to Heinz, not caring about the blood that covered them both. He knew that this turned out okay. That Heinz was Doofenshmirtz and Doofenshmirtz was alive and arguably well in the future. It would all be okay.

.:.:.

Heinz opened his eyes. He felt like he'd just been sleeping, but he couldn't remember going to sleep. Or even where he was. He was dizzy, and his right arm was throbbing. He tried to move it –

What.

He flung himself up into a sitting position, which did nothing to help the spinning in his head. Still, he looked at the stump where his right arm used to be. That was not good.

Heinz looked around. He seemed to be in a clearing in the woods. He was having trouble making his eyes focus, so he wasn't entirely sure which one. There was a pile of smashed machinery across the clearing, and –

Was that a dead goozim?

Heinz blinked, then blinked again, then went to rub his eyes before the pain reminded him that he now only had one arm.

What was going on?

Something shifted next to his leg, and he looked down, startled. There was a teal… platypus? curled up asleep next to him. It was covered in blood, but then, so was Heinz now that he was looking. Somehow, the platypus seemed to be the most surreal part of the situation.

Then the platypus started to glow. Heinz blinked, and the platypus disappeared.

Heinz lay back down, mind blank. This was probably a dream. That's it. He was going to wake up, and this was all going to be a dream.

But when he woke up again, he was in the same place, with the same dead goozim, still missing his arm, and the platypus nowhere in sight. At the very least, the non-platypus parts definitely weren't a dream.

So what happened?

* * *

Warnings: Intentional killing of a large animal (the goozim). Traumatic injury leading to an off screen field amputation.

I must have rewritten that fight scene five times. Hopefully it reads okay. Only the epilogue left!


	5. Epilogue

"Oh, there you are, Perry!"

Perry jolted awake to the sound of Phineas' voice. What? How did he get home? He looked around, but there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Not that that was saying much. Phineas was crouched down next to Perry, and behind him sat some sort of invention that the boys had made. Had it been a dream?

"The platypus retrieval machine works like a charm!" Phineas crowed, and Perry let out a confused chatter.

Ferb walked out from the other side of the machine and picked Perry up. And–

"Why are you covered in blood, boy?" Phineas' voice was suddenly worried.

Not a dream then.

"It doesn't appear to be his blood," Ferb noted.

Phineas leaned closer and nodded. "We should give him a bath."

Perry didn't fight his boys in the bath like he usually did. His fur was sticky and caked together, and he needed some time to think.

Phineas and Ferb had clearly built something that would find and retrieve him, presumably to keep him from wandering off all the time. Perry would need to find some way to disable it, lest they discover his secret identity again, but right now he could only find it in himself to be grateful for his boys' brilliance. He wondered if they had known it was strong enough to find him over three decades earlier on a different continent. He wondered how long he'd been gone, if they had built this device specifically to find him or if it was simply their project of the day.

The boys were cooing over him, but no more than usual, so it was likely he hadn't been gone long. Possibly not more than a day.

Almost more worrying was the boy's reaction to finding him covered in blood, but Perry didn't want to unpack that right now.

Perry wondered how Heinz was doing. He hoped the boy recovered well. Of course, Perry knew he recovered, he knew the boy's future self and had even seen the flashback to the science fair, where he couldn't even tell that Heinz's right arm had been fake. But Doofenshmirtz'd had a long time to heal, and he suspected that the backstories that he'd been privy to were not entirely accurate.

He wondered why he'd never seen a backstory about a certain platypus abandoning Heinz.

Soon, he was clean and dry in his basket, thinking. There was only one thing he could do, really. He needed to visit Doofenshmirtz.

He entered his lair through the tunnel under his basket. One quick slide with no interruptions, and he landed in the lair to a dark screen. He briefly wondered if Doofenshmirtz had called to gloat, but no. The scientist was probably freaking out, busy trying to figure out where he'd sent his nemesis.

Perry pulled on one of his spare hats and grabbed his jetpack.

The trip to Doofenshmirtz's building was the same as it had always been, quick and with a jaunty jingle. Perry took the elevator up, deciding that since he wasn't there for work, he might as well be polite and use the door.

When he entered the lab, he saw Doofenshmirtz bent over the -inator that had sent Perry to the past in the first place, pulling at wires and muttering to himself. Perry could almost see his younger self in his place, doing the exact same thing.

He chattered to announce his presence, and the doctor whipped around, arms flailing comically.

"Perry the Platypus?" Doofenshmirtz asked, surprised. "You're back!" He took an excited step towards Perry, revealing a small fedora sitting on the control panel.

The man paused and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, this is awkward. I was just trying to find out where I sent you, we never did finish–"

Perry cut him off by running over and hugging his legs.

Doofenshmirtz seemed to flounder for a moment. "Perry the Platypus, what are you–"

Perry squeezed tighter for a moment, cutting the man off again, before letting go. Doofenshmirtz was opening and closing his mouth, looking like he was trying to figure out what to say. Perry didn't give him the chance. He grabbed the doctor's right hand and tugged on it.

This seemed to shake Doofenshmirtz out of his shock, and the man raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to hold my hand?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Perry shook his head and tugged on the arm again, before shooting the doctor a questioning look.

The man drew back, eyes wide. "Perry the Platypus. Are you actually asking for one of my backstories?"

Finally. Perry nodded, trying not to look too eager.

Doofenshmirtz crossed his arms. "Well, it's too bad you asked for one that I don't have."

Perry stared. What?

The man sighed and waved his arms. "Fine, I have a backstory, I just don't remember most of it. One moment, I'm sitting against a tree, and the next I'm sprawled out in a clearing with a smashed machine, a dead goozim, and no arm."

Perry blinked. Heinz had forgotten. It made a disturbing amount of sense, he supposed.

"I probably hit my head when I lost my arm, that's my theory. No idea how the goozim died, though…" Doofenshmirtz kept rambling, but Perry wasn't listening. Of course Heinz had forgotten. That explained why he'd never heard Doofenshmirtz mention this before. It hurt, a deep longing ache, to know that as much as he cared for Heinz, the boy didn't remember him. It was probably for the best, but it hurt all the same.

After a while, Perry cut off Doofenshmirtz's rambling and gestured to the -inator.

The doctor shrugged. "We're both tired, Perry the Platypus, and it seems like there's something that you're not telling me." Perry looked away. Yes, there was, but he wasn't going to talk about it. Especially not with Doofenshmirtz.

"How about this…" the doctor continued, walking over to the -inator and pressing the self-destruct button.

Perry's eyes widened as the machine fell apart. He hadn't been expecting that.

Doofenshmirtz smiled and waved him off. "You look like you could use some rest."

Oh. Perry smiled back, though it was probably a touch sadder than the one on the doctor's face, and headed towards the balcony.

"Before you leave," the man called from behind him, and Perry turned just in time to catch the fedora that was thrown at him.

Perry gave a nod of thanks before jumping off the balcony and letting his jetpack carry him home. He had a lot he needed to think about.

Behind him, he heard his nemesis yell, half joking, "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!"

Some things never changed.

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed the ride! I had a lot of fun with this story, and I really enjoyed rediscovering this fandom. Thank you guys for all the support! I know this fandom isn't very large, but I'm thrilled with the reception that I've gotten.

I'm working on a sequel for this as we speak. I've got about a chapter written so far, and I'll start to upload it when I have a few chapters as a cushion. Keep your eyes out!

Thanks for reading!


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